1025: Chapter 1025: Successful Encirclent?
The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind?
(Extra-long Chapter, Seeking Monthly Votes) 1025: Chapter 1025: Successful Encirclent?
The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind?
(Extra-long Chapter, Seeking Monthly Votes) Yilan City · South City
“General,”
A middle-aged military officer approached the elderly man standing by the garden, handing over a tablet, “General Mid has already returned to North City.”
“Cough, what about Lin En, has he co back?”
Corvey coughed and looked up at the dark clouds overhead.
“North City says,”
The middle-aged officer paused for a mont, “Mr.
Lin En stayed at the Kopes Mining rcenary Corps camp to cover the retreat.”
A silent wind blew through the peaceful garden as the pale-faced elderly man stood before the railing, gazing down upon the dimly lit city.
“So it is.”
He lowered his head, let out a raspy sigh, then quietly extracted a tal cigarette case and shook out a silver-gray filtered cigarette.
He held the cigarette in his hand but did not light it.
Instead, he looked towards the city in front of him and asked quietly, “How are things in the city?”
“At first it was a bit difficult to maintain order, but after the civilians spontaneously organized patrol teams, the situation improved a lot,”
The middle-aged man replied swiftly, “The City Defense Army returning from the North has also joined the patrols, the situation has basically stabilized, and there are many fewer reports of people suddenly going mad.”
He paused, then added with a hint of surprise, “I didn’t expect that these patrol teams could demonstrate so much strength in the face of a crisis.”
“This is the strength that Yilan people have always possessed,”
Corvey sighed, “It’s just that we never noticed it before.”
He raised his head, looking towards the distant North.
He lifted his fingertip, brushing through the silent air, “Moreover, the patrol teams themselves may carry a transcendent significance.”
“Ah?”
The middle-aged military officer was startled and looked at the old man with confusion.
“The flock that should be fearful has finally mustered the courage and made the resolution to unite and defend themselves,”
Corvey stared at the end of the dark clouds, “The mont they gathered that courage, the problems born of fear ceased to be problems.”
His tone was slow and lingering, “Lin En has planted seeds in people’s hearts through his speeches and actions, and now, those seeds have taken root and sprouted, breaking through the soil and beginning to grow.”
At the edge of the sky, a bright radiance began to flicker.
——
Wilderness
Flas tore through the firmant, fire lighting up the sky.
The thunder that had pierced the sky was not entirely devoured by darkness; it still broke through the uppermost layer of clouds, connecting to the heavens beyond.
And now, above in the sky, the entire stars and nature responded by lending their power to the War God.
teors wrapped in molten lava fell from the sky with scorching trails, tearing through the barrier isolating this area, ripping through the overcast clouds shrouding the firmant.
Then one by one, a dense and fiery rain of molten rocks fell from the sky, like a fla-filled deluge crashing into the dim darkness.
The thick darkness, like a pervasive mist, was dispersed by the stirred up storm of radiance, the dazzling aurora and the dim stars beyond illuminating the faint mountains, also casting light upon the silhouettes composed of stars in the darkness.
Hiss—
As the surrounding twisted darkness was driven away, the dense incoming swarm of Abyssal Creatures also revealed their savage and twisted forms in the light.
They struggled violently, attempting to evade the brilliance raining from the sky, retreating back into the darkness.
Like fish stranded on the shore, desperately trying to return to the ‘water’ they knew.
However, their struggle was short-lived.
In a trance, so invisible force took control of their will, and under the glare of the light, they opened their ferocious claws and teeth, charging towards the Crimson Giant standing at the heart of the radiance.
And that giant, holding a Thunder Longsword, stood there quietly, not even glancing once at them.
Boom—
The first teor grazed the edge of the crimson body, crashing into the earth before it, shattering a mountain hundreds of ters tall.
Intense flas and molten lava burst forth from the teor in an instant, turning into a surging sea of fire, instantly engulfing all the Abyssal Creatures nearby.
“Ah!
Ooh—”
Twisted wailing echoed between heaven and earth, as so figures, even before they had the chance to move, were reduced to dust by the overwhelming flas.
And at this mont, the Crimson Giant wielding the thunderous longsword finally began to move.
He lifted his feet, like towering mountains, moving forward slowly.
Boom—
With each step he took, scorching teors from the sky followed his footsteps forward, falling like soldiers clearing the way for their king, smashing into the undulating mountains.
The thunderous roar of the explosions accompanied the giant’s body.
Scattered darkness, following the giant’s footsteps, was gradually dispelled by the flas, and shattered mountains flung rocks into the air, turning into dense ‘dust’.
The flas devoured everything on the ground, the rolling mountains flattened by the explosions, the ferocious creatures turned to ashes, the soft sandy soil transford into fiery glass, and the hard rocks lted into scorching lava.
The billowing sea of flas, like water, rose to the ankles of the giant and then spread towards the darkness and the depths of the mountains with his footsteps.
The fiery glow of the sunset illuminated the land, mountains shattered by teors, then leveled by the scorching sea of fire.
He Ao, holding the great sword in his hand, raised his head, gazing at the darkness ahead that was now scattered.
A dim, black figure filled with green Array emanated from its body, stood before him.
The darkness that poured into the figure’s body, trying to remove the green Array, had now dimd.
The sound of teors falling from the sky above had faded away, leaving only the flowing sea of fire lingering at the feet of the Crimson Giant.
In the brief confrontation, He Ao had already realized that the surrounding darkness was an extension of the Abyss, and the Abyssal Prisoner could still ‘absorb’ and ‘receive assistance’ from it.
This was an advantageous ‘arena’ for the Abyssal Prisoner, who could gain strength and even summon Abyssal Creatures to fight for him, while He Ao and Levi could not.
Moreover, the Abyssal Prisoner was deliberately dragging out the pace of battle, consuming the strength of He Ao and Levi and buying ti to recover from weakness.
Therefore, He Ao opted for the simplest and most brutal thod, directly summoning teors, smashing the arena to pieces.
“Foolish mortal…
the power you have sought is already exhausted in these flas…”
The dark figure gazed at He Ao, raising his hand, invisible darkness spreading around him, “You have used your power crudely…
now you will pay the price for your stupidity…”
Sudden darkness spread from the surroundings, quickly wrapping around He Ao’s body.
The pitch-black figure instantly vanished, rushing towards He Ao.
And at this mont, He Ao abruptly raised his thunderous longsword, lunging with a strike.
However, he did not confront the shadow rushing from the darkness; instead, his body flew diagonally, even ignoring the black shadow that almost brushed past him, and directly reached the position where the figure had just stood.
Here too, a pervasive darkness that seed to have dissipated, spread around.
Boom—
The thunderous longsword struck with brilliance, slashing through that darkness.
In that instant, a figure separated from the dim darkness and retreated backward.
Even so, the thunderous longsword still struck his thigh, carving a massive gash.
“Why…”
The figure distanced from He Ao, his hoarse voice echoing in He Ao’s mind, and the wound on his leg began to heal naturally.
“Guess.”
He Ao lifted his thunderous longsword, watching the figure.
In his imdiate perception, the energy of the black shadow that pounced on him was not that strong, nor was the sense of threat that significant.
Then he quickly realized that this guy was trying to perform a Golden Cicada Shells maneuver, using an illusion to pretend to attack, while his body would hide further into parts of the darkness that had not yet been dispersed by the teors.
So, he decisively ignored the rushing shadow and intercepted the power heading towards the area where the darkness had yet to be dispelled.
Clearly, he had guessed right.
At this mont, within his ‘field of view’, the green Array that had spread within the figure’s body, already dismantled quite a bit, was now flickering inside the figure’s body, seemingly indicating Levi’s power was recovering.
But soon, these remnants of the Array were suppressed by the power of the figure.
However, behind the figure, within the silent darkness, it seems that new Arrays were also quietly erging.
“Mortal’s…
combat intuition…”
The figure slowly stood up, gazing at He Ao, while his leg injury had already healed, the Thunder that had been driven into his wound was now rapidly tearing through his body.
While speaking, he was sensing the environnt around him.
“Do you plan to hide in darkness again, waiting for the ritual within the city to take effect, for fear to spread, giving you a chance to recover, to erge from weakness and counterattack us both?”
He Ao wasn’t looking at the green Arrays behind the figure, but was calmly looking at the figure before him, where a vague smile was drawn on the cheeks ford by the crimson glow, “Have you guessed why I absolutely had to draw you to Advent here?”
He lifted the Thunder Longsword, stepping across lava and flas, walking step by step towards the figure, “You haven’t felt the restoration of your powers now, have you?”
His tone slowing more and more, he laughed, “Perhaps, the fear you are looking forward to, will never co to pass?”
“Mortal…
you are…
deceiving …”
The hoarse voice echoed in He Ao’s brain, the figure withdrew his gaze from the surroundings, his pitch-black palm lifted, and from within the darkness pulled out a slender dagger.
“Fear…
will eventually descend…
I was originally…
waiting for your power to naturally deplete…
you, about to be consud…
are nothing but…
vermin…
your arrogance…
will bring about…
the most tragic…
death.”
In an instant, his figure disappeared, reappearing in front of He Ao, “The eternally rciful Abyss…
will soothe your…
arrogance…
and rudeness.”
“Storm!”
He Ao instantly raised the Longsword, to et the attacking dagger.
Bang—
With a light sound, He Ao’s arm trembled, errant Thunder sprang from the Longsword.
The raging lightning spread into every space around, forming a sea of Thunder.
At the sa ti, a fierce wind rose in front of him, carrying waves of flas, enveloping the pitch-black figure within it, scorching the darkness inside of him.
“Wuu—”
From the air ca a non-human scream, intense darkness burst in an instant from the figure, and the void hollow in the sky suddenly flickered.
Pure Void and darkness instantly passed through Thunder and sea of fire, pouring into the figure’s body.
At this mont, the figure’s power seed to have received a great boost, suddenly moved forward, pressing the Longsword with the dagger, forcibly pushing He Ao’s Longsword right up against his chest.
The Thunder Longsword also dimd at this mont, with a few cracks erging.
At the sa ti, the pitch-black darkness rapidly spread from the surrounding flas and Thunder, forming intangible lines, wrapping around He Ao’s body.
The surging flas and Thunder sought to dispel them but were instantly swallowed up by them, then surged even further towards He Ao’s body.
These pitch-black lines, like greedy monsters, clinging onto the crimson body, draining its power and soul.
He Ao’s body shuddered, with the rapid loss of power, the Longsword in his hands was pushed further back, pressed against his chest, the pitch-black sharp dagger had already touched his body.
An even more violent devouring force, along with that dagger, surged into his body.
At this mont, He Ao seed to hear the heartbeat of death approaching.
“Arrogant…
mortal…
even if you summon the power of a Great Being…
you are still…
a mortal…”
Vague lips erged again on the featureless black face of the figure, pulling a smile, his mad and fragnted consciousness seeming to have finally regained so sanity, “You can borrow the Great Being’s power, and so can I, more than you, stronger…
never in this world has it been heard…
that a mortal could slay an Angel…”
His mouth opened, emitting a hoarse, indescribably resonant sound, “Angels are…
immortal…”
Pfft—
A green light arrow, pierced through his body from behind.
“of…”
Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft—
Following that, one light arrow after another shot out from the flas that obscured everything, piercing his dim body.
The dissipating radiance triggered the originally intense green Array within his body, spreading rapidly within him like ink droplets in clear water.
His body gradually stiffened, his strength progressively drained,
Bang—
And in that mont, He Ao suddenly exerted force, flicking away his dagger, and the giant sword glowing with thunderous brilliance thrust forward fiercely, piercing through his torso.
The dazzling thunder t the spreading green luminance in the figure’s body, igniting like sparks upon dry hay, almost instantly erupting and covering his entire body.
At the sa ti, layers of green Arrays pierced through the darkness around, forming barriers after barriers, enveloping the figure, locking down his movents, and catalyzing the thunder to scorch his body.
He Ao loosened his grip, and the thunderous giant sword shattered with a boom, while the golden Longsword that had ford its core transford into a streak of light, falling into the palm of his hand.
Then he raised his hand, stepped back several paces, and violently tore apart the lines that coiled around his body.
“Ah!!!
You were…
pretending to be weak…”
The figure, whose dark body was filled with bursting thunder, raised his hand trying to touch He Ao, only to be blocked by the barriers made of the green Arrays.
The surrounding sea of fire dissipated, revealing behind the figure the starry figure holding a green light bow releasing its hold.
He Ao looked towards the starry figure, nodded slightly, and then turned his gaze back to the dark figure wrapped in thunder.
He had indeed hidden part of his strength just now, but not much, only keeping the energy for his final move.
Summoning the teor did indeed consu most of his power, and he could indeed not withstand the full attack of the Abyssal Prisoner.
But this ti, he was not alone.
His provocative words just now were to attract the Abyssal Prisoner’s attention, while the wave of fire engulfing the figure was to interfere with his perception.
All these were to buy ti for Levi, which had been planned the mont he noticed Levi was constructing an Array behind the Abyssal Prisoner.
He had not communicated with Levi, fearing that the fluctuations of Extraordinary Power caused by communication would be perceived by the Abyssal Prisoner, but evidently, Levi had clearly understood his intentions and seized the opportunity he created, completing a round of symbiotic cooperation without any words.
“Ah!!!
You think to kill …
Impossible!!!”
Under the simultaneous ‘scorching’ of thunder and green light, the Abyssal Prisoner’s pitch-black body was quickly fading.
He raised his hand, and violent darkness surged out of his body, “Great Abyss, please hear my prayer…”
In the heavens above, the colossal Void Hollow suddenly expanded at that mont, almost instantly covering two-thirds of the sky.
And within that rift, what seed like the nothingness, now violently churned.
Like a volcano on the verge of eruption, shaking the Firmant.
Then, an endless Void erupted from that breach, spreading beneath the sky, and the original brilliance of the entire world dimd and vanished at that mont.
“It’s the Abyssal Tide!
Much stronger than the one I encountered before.”
Feeling that surging power, Levi did not hesitate and roared at He Ao, “Run, he’s going to pull us all into the Abyss!”
Just then, Levi’s body stalled.
His figure abruptly rigidified, then shattered into countless fragnted stars.
The heavens that covered the sky dimd in an instant, the endless Void devouring all of the space, the hollow and cold power sweeping over He Ao’s crimson body, causing his already fragile body to flicker.
At that mont, He Ao, as if sensing sothing, lifted his head to look at the sky.
Next to the Void Hollow that now took up two-thirds of the sky, the Firmant filled with the crimson afterglow had disappeared without a trace, turning into a field of brilliant stars.
Or rather, those stars were not transford by the glow; they had always been hidden within it, only now revealing their true forms.
Vaguely, a hazy outline was sketching itself out among the stars.
“Quick…
Run…”
And at that mont, Levi’s trembling words echoed in He Ao’s mind.
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